Saturday’s fixture against Canvey Island is the 2nd in a run of 5 consecutive home league fixtures for the Blues spanning into the start of November, and Wingate & Finchley will be looking to continue their current form after back-to-back victories in the league against playoff-hopeful sides Hastings and Horsham. Canvey, meanwhile will also be looking at a target of playoffs themselves this season as they aim to maintain their current momentum, facing their 3rd away league fixture in a row, coming off the back of successes on the road at Carshalton Athletic and Billericay Town.
Our Opponents
Canvey Island spent 5 seasons in Isthmian North before achieving promotion to the Isthmian Premier League via the play-offs in 2021/22. They almost passed straight through the Isthmian Premier League in 2022/23 as they had an excellent season and finished 3rd behind only Hornchurch and Bishop’s Stortford last campaign. In the playoffs, however, Canvey lost their semi-final on penalties to Aveley who ended up promoted to the National League South.
This season, Canvey sit in 9th place with 15 points from 9 games including 5 wins and 4 defeats (no draws to date). After an opening day victory against Haringey Borough, three consecutive league defeats meant that the Islanders slipped to 18th before a string of victories helped them return to the top half of the table. Like the Blues, Canvey are also out of both FA Cup and FA Trophy competitions at this stage so will be focusing their attention on the league and planning to go one better than last season’s playoff disappointment.
Head To Head
It was one victory apiece last season as Canvey Island ran out with a 2-0 victory at the Maurice Rebak Stadium in April with goals from Bradley Sach and Conor Hubble. Wingate took a much-needed 3-0 victory in Ahmet Rifat’s first full game in charge back in October 2022 when visiting Canvey, with goals coming from Ben Siggers, Alkeo Bani and Dylan Kearney. Prior to this, the sides hadn’t met in in over 5 years since Canvey’s last spell in the Isthmian Premier League.
Last Time Out
Canvey Island travelled to early season high-flyers Carshalton Athletic on Monday 9th, and ended up taking all three points thanks to 3 second half goals in a convincing 3-0 victory; a brace from Sam Mvemba and a late goal from substitute Toni Tinubu.
The Blues had a brilliant 2-0 home victory on Tuesday against a Horsham side who had discovered that they would be travelling to EFL side Barnsley in the FA Cup first round. Wingate & Finchley managed to bring Horsham down to earth with a strong performance, not allowing Horsham many clear chances, and the victory was capped off by second half goals from Ruben Carvalho and Elliot Long.
Players To Watch
Last season Canvey had two of the top five marksmen in the league in Bradley Sach (23 goals) and Evans Kouassi (21 goals) on their way to finishing in 3rd place. The Islanders have managed to retain the services of both and they continue to score goals aplenty with 3 and 4 respectively this campaign so far.
For the Blues, Ruben Carvalho was back amongst the goals on Tuesday taking his tally to 6 in all competitions while there was an impressive debut for midfield loan signing George Wilkinson.
Tickets for adults can be purchased here or on the gate, with concession tickets available on the gate. We look forward to welcoming you to the Maurice Rebak Stadium as the Blues look to continue their fine form. Come on you Blues!
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